Las Vegas, Jan. 16, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Castle Brands, a developer and international marketer of premium beverage alcohol brands, is partnering with blurbIQ Inc., whose patent-pending technology allows advertisers and publishers to overlay rich interactive experiences on images and video, to drive participation in a photo contest that rewards the winner with a trip to Ireland.
Castle Brands has five good reasons to love the Irish: Boru® Vodka, Knappogue Castle 12 Year Old Single Malt Irish Whiskey®, Clontarf 1014® Irish Whiskey, Celtic Honey® Liqueur and Brady's® Irish Cream. In the lead-up to St. Patrick's Day, the portfolio is launching its Irish to the Core contest, celebrating these five Irish spirits by asking fans why they love the Irish for a chance to win a trip to Ireland and thousands of dollars in cash prizes.
In an integrated campaign featuring an interactive video preroll and graphic interactive media on social media launching on January 17 and running through March, Castle will drive participations in its "Irish To The Core" promotion using four different ad units including blurbIQ's unique scratch off- and peel off- puzzle ad units similar to these:
http://video.blurbiq.com/0/75d2a379-b793-492b-b0a5-025c4df55707/index.html
http://video.blurbiq.com/0/34a33b7c-a312-4df8-9b77-4b86c707ea1c/index.html
The other blurbIQ ad units used in the campaign are a Facebook Memory Game and a custom interactive video preroll produced by blurbIQ. All with a goal of driving contest enrollment. Here is an example: http://youtu.be/vcpbheKQKK8
"The folks at blurbIQ are true innovators and we think these scratch off- and peel off- puzzle ad units are an engaging and fun way to invite participation in our contest," says Alejandra Pena, SVP Marketing of Castle Brands. "By giving consumers an interactive experience we are keeping them engaged with our brand messaging for longer periods of time, ending with a chance to share with friends and family across social media."
"The Irish To The Core Campaign is blurbIQ's latest fully integrated cross platform and interactive campaign that drives user engagement while providing valuable performance metrics back to the advertiser," says Scott Reese, CEO and Co-Founder of blurbIQ. "Together with Castle Brands, we have developed unique interactive digital experiences that get consumers to take an action, and perhaps more importantly, remember the brand at the point of purchase."
blurbIQ is best known for innovative video ad creative units that give users a choice in how they engage with a brand's video ad. Interactive messaging is sequenced to the brand's video assets in a variety of ways such as selecting the storyline of a video ad, selecting product features to view personalized products, choosing how to watch a carousel of brand videos, skipping video ads by typing in brand messaging, and earning reward points by answering quizzes. blurbIQ has also integrated into the video frame brand site search functionality, a full range of social media features as well as other interactive experiences triggered by clicking on icons that appear only when viewers touch (or mouse over) the video frame.
Castle Brands (NYSE MKT: ROX) is a developer and international marketer of premium beverage alcohol brands, including: Gosling's Rum™, Jefferson's® Bourbon, Jefferson's® Reserve Bourbon, Jefferson's® Presidential Select™ and Jefferson's® Straight Rye Whiskey, Boru® Vodka, Castello Mio™ Sambuca, Pallini® Limoncello, Pallini Raspicello® and Pallini Peachcello®, Knappogue Castle Whiskey®, Clontarf® Irish Whiskey, Celtic Honey® Liqueur, Brady's® Irish Cream, Tierras™ Tequila and Gozio™ Amaretto Liqueur. Additional information concerning Castle Brands is available on the company's website, www.castlebrandsinc.com
blurbIQ (http://www.blurbiq.com ) is the leader in interactive media experiences across the digital marketing spectrum. The patent-pending technology overlays video with interactive brand messaging sequenced to a brand's video assets and uses gamification elements to get viewers involved and increase video ad completion rates, brand recall and message retention. blurbIQ's interactive units work seamlessly with pre-roll, in banner, mobile, tablet, and social media ad units. The company's platform provides quick-time analytics so brands can measure every viewer interaction with their interactive video content like never before. Since launching in July of 2010, blurbIQ has executed cross platform campaigns with some of the biggest brands in the world such as AT&T, Campbell's Soup, Jamba Juice, E*Trade, Duracell, Church & Dwight, General Motors, Focus Features, Rosetta Stone and Universal Pictures. blurbIQ has earned industry accolades becoming a finalist for the 2013 Digiday Mobi Awards Best iPad/Tablet Advertising Campaign and winning two awards at the Las Vegas Digital Media Awards.